EI changes spur outrage and accolades

OTTAWA — Some employers are expressing outrage at changes to employment insurance, while the government is rushing to defend the new system as reasonable and helpful.

Much of the criticism is coming from employers who rely on seasonal workers. The new system will force seasonal workers, in the off-season, to look for and accept work they are qualified for instead of relying on EI to bridge the gap.

“I’ve been talking to the guys in the industry and we’re, excuse my language, going to be royally screwed by this,” said Andrew Nichols, who runs the Fall River landscaping company Property Works.

Nichols hires four people for seven to eight months of the year. They rely on EI and snow removal jobs to get through the winter.

He brings back the same people once he finds good workers, but he says the new rules will make it harder to keep seasonal workers around and available. He worries that his usual employees will find jobs elsewhere and he’ll have to find and train new people every year.

“I supported the Harper government, but this is definitely going to change the way I vote in the next election,” Nichols said. “Which is going to be too late.”

But others say the changes are not only appropriate but they don’t go far enough.

The system reforms are “the softest nudge possible” to get people back to work, according to Dan Kelly, senior vice-president of legislative affairs for the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.

Kelly said it will still be too easy for people to get on EI and stay on it under the new rules. He wanted to see the amount of work needed to qualify for EI upped and administrative rules tightened.

Over half of federation members in Nova Scotia have reported having trouble finding workers, Kelly said.

“It’s incredibly frustrating for small-business owners to see high levels of unemployment as they struggle to put their products and services to market,” he said.

Some questions are still swirling around the changes. Foremost is what will qualify as a “similar occupation.” Workers who regularly draw EI will have to accept a similar occupation that pays 80 per cent of their old salary if one is available. If none is found after six weeks, they will have to accept any work they’re qualified to perform that pays at least 70 per cent of their former salary.

Human Resources Minister Diane Finley was asked Thursday on CTV what would count as a similar job for a lobster fisherman during the off-season.

“If you’re used to lifting heavy loads, then maybe there’s a warehouse that needs some heavy loads lifted,” Finley offered.

There remain no clear rules about what will count as a similar job, but government staff say decisions will be based on the skills of the worker and existing job codes.

The government has so far been unequivocal that seasonal workers will be expected to look for jobs when they’re drawing EI. But Finley’s staff are moving to reassure people that they will not be booted off EI.

Finley spokeswoman Alyson Queen stressed that personal circumstances will always be taken into account, and if no reasonable job is available in the area, a person will continue to draw payments as normal.

“At the end of the day, common sense will prevail here,” Queen said.

It’s not known how many Nova Scotians rely on EI to make it through seasonal unemployment. Neither the federal Human Resources Department nor Statistics Canada keeps those stats. According to seasonally adjusted Statistics Canada data, 31,420 Nova Scotians were drawing EI in March.

Under the new rules, EI claimants must be able to document that they are looking for work, but not everyone will be equally scrutinized. The government is hiring new enforcement officers — part of a $21-million, two-year investment to beef up the EI system — and federal staff say the required proof of job searching will be “targeted.”